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tv   Al Jazeera World News  LINKTV  December 29, 2012 2:00pm-2:30pm PST

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thousands mourned the death of a gang-rape victim in india. the attack on the 23-year-old has led to an outrage over the way that women are treated by the indian justice system. six men will now be charged with her murder. you were watching al-jazeera, live from london. barack obama says congress must act now to avoid economic disaster in the u.s. women march for peace and the central african republic as advancing rebels prepare for
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talks with the government. 4 die when a russian airplane crashes onto the highway in moscow. for 13 days, doctors had fought to keep her alive but her injuries were too severe. now the six men accused of gang raping the 23-year-old woman in india are being charged with murder. she was thrown from a moving bus after being assaulted. thousands of people have called for more to be done to protect indian women against sexual violence. from new delhi, we have this report. >> they came and the hundreds to mourn the young woman brutalized and to show their anger to lawrence the authorities who have not year -- show their
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anger towards the authorities. the chief minister had already described it as a shameful moment for india, but that did not spare them the rest of the crowd. >> we need to do something because we have too much on the establishment and they have let us down. >> the government has been trying to put off protesters by sealing off large parts of the city and closing off metro stations. hundreds of armed police and riot troops are on duty. but the protests are spreading beyond the capital. there are vigils and demonstrations across the country. rape is the fastest growing crime in india, an incident reported every 20 minutes, yet the issue has largely been ignored by the authorities until now. violence against women in india is making news around the world and the politicians are not
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taking -- paying attention. they say that this young woman's death will not be in vain. she is being called out in the his daughter, but she spent her final hours at a hospital in singapore. she suffered from severe organ failure as a result of her terrible injuries. >> her family is shattered by this development. at the same time, they realized it the best medical attention was provided to hurt and in the and it was the scale of the injuries that was too much. >> her body is being flown back from singapore for last rites as india which for the arrival of the victim. many are coming to terms with the ordeal. the victim and her friends were on a boss. she was severely beaten with an iron rod and gang-raped almost
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an hour before being thrown from the moving vehicle. the police have charged six people with her murder. >> why do people feel so strongly they are prepared to defy the government orders and protests in the streets? >> the protests started tuesday, after the attack, when she was a hospital in critical condition. they gained momentum at this point. during this point is when the government was forced to look at the issue, forced to actually have a good look at what is happening in india with regards to violence against women. the protesters felt this was the only way the issue could be addressed, the only way the authorities would give any credence to this, make sure they would fast track this. they will start a sex offenders registry, which does not exist here. it will do all of these things. they realize as much as the
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government says they will do this, they had to be pushed. the people had to be on the streets to push the government. as the victim's condition deteriorated, there was much fear that without her fighting for survival, the government would step back and stop pushing for the changes they are calling for. >> does that mean the arrival of the woman's body is likely to keep the momentum going? keep the demonstrations going? >> there are worries that without her as the focal point, because she is now a symbol of women's rights against violence, they're worried without her the fight will disappear and dissipate, the protests will stop, the government will stop the motions. the last big protests last year, thousands of people took to the streets in anti-corruption march
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is. the government promised all kinds of initiatives. a year later, nothing much has changed. people worry this will have the same kind of a fact, so the people are very conscious of the fact if they did not keep pushing, if it does not remain at the top of the agenda, it is very likely to fall off in the of the government to do lists. there are protests planned tomorrow. we have been speaking with a lot of people on the streets, and they say one of the different things about these protests were they were motivated individually. there was not a political motivation about it. so long as the people of india, crees' -- people across the board feel this is something they want to fight for, they will still keep it moving. at the same time, they still need to that momentum and keep it going. >> thanks again. crucial meetings to come up with a deal to avoid the so- called fiscal cliff in the u.s.
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will resume sunday. president obama says that congress must act now to avoid economic disaster. he has been meeting with republican and democratic leaders to reach a deal to avoid tax hikes and spending cuts that take effect january 1. >> the hour-long meeting with president barack obama was the first face-to-face session together with both republican leaders of the latest fiscal crisis. obama said he was modestly optimistic about the agreement by senate leaders on a compromise bill that could be voted on by monday. that is just two days before 6 under billion dollars of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts begin to take effect -- $600 billion of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts take effect. >> we want to make sure that unemployment insurance is still available for 2 million people and lay the groundwork for additional deficit reduction and economic growth steps to take in the new year.
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but let's not miss this deadline. >> we are working hard to get there in the next 24 hours. i'm hopeful and optimistic. >> whenever we come up with will be imperfect. some people will not like it, some people will like it less, but that is where we are. >> the democratic leader said it will prevent a tax hike on middle-class families are not up to a quarter million dollars. that condition, in line with obama's campaign pledge to raise taxes on the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers ought. it is a condition that so far is unacceptable to republicans want to extend current tax breaks regardless of income. the pressure will be elements of the house republicans to follow through. at this point, it is an open question. at least six people in pakistan have been killed, dozens injured in an explosion in karachi.
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it ripped apart a bus parked on the road and a hotel was also damaged. they're still no word on what caused the explosion. the police say a bomb was planted on the boss. another boat -- as it was planted on the bus, but another official said it was on a motorbike. videos released follow several high-profile taliban attacks in the northern cities. the detonations envoy to syria has warned the country's crisis will go one of two ways, to help or a constructive political process. they say that the neighboring countries will not be to take many more refugees. they were speaking in moscow to the russian foreign minister. >> object of everybody who is
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acting in a responsible manner inside syria and the middle east region and around the world is o help the syrians stop therir descent into more bloodshed, more chaos, and perhaps into a failed state. >> i would like to the size and through the communique that syrians themselves must approve the future. this very much depends on their actions, but the actions must not change the dialogue that must take place among the syrians themselves from the beginning. campaigners are warning of a humanitarian crisis in a syrian city seized by soldiers. according to the opposition
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syrian, communication systems are down and cannot get casualty numbers. the military is applying pressure from the air, fighter jets attacking a town in the helmand province. opposition activists say that areas close to military airport in the north are also being heavily shelled. this shows the body of a man and boy who were apparently killed in an attack in a nearby town. government forces are targeting the airport because the rebels have managed to surround it. fodder say they are running low on ammunition, but they're still attempting -- rebels say they are running low on ammunition but they're still attempting to approach the air base. rebels from the central african republic are agreeing to peace talks. meantime, battles are continuing
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between the rebels were trying to overthrow the president and the government troops. the letters have taken control of at least 10 towns across -- fighters have taken control of at least 10 towns across the country's no.. >> the message was clear, stop the fighting, hundred sticking to the streets demanding that the rebel alliance and hostilities and calling on france to deploy forces to defend them. they fear the capital could fall within days. 600,000 people live in the capital and they are vulnerable. >> we have suffered a lot because of the war. the people have suffered a lot and seen many atrocities. >> i'm scared of war. nobody wishes for war in any country. everybody wants peace rather than war. >> the regional neighbors agreed on friday to dispatch a
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contingent of soldiers to intervene in the fighting. representatives from the 10- nation economic committee of central african states were not able to say how many troops would be deployed or when it would be sent, but diplomats agreed that time was running short. >> we want to go quickly but also correctly. because of that, we have met the rebel movement and the general also spoke to the army coalition to make sure that things go well and fast. >> the french president pled for international help from his colonial masters in france. the government forces in paris insist they are in the country to protect french interests and not the government. fighting saturday moved closer to the capital as rebels captured a town 150 kilometers from the capital. it fell without a shot fired. a soldier pulled out to take up a defensive position 75 kilometers from the capital.
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the rebels are said to have agreed to attend peace talks in the next few days, but no preconditions have been set. the threat of an all out assault on the capital remains. still to come, thousands of protesters demanded the macedonian prime minister -- >> i am the eye opening documen,
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only one link tv. a reminder of the main stories on al-jazeera, thousands have taken part and candlelight vigils in india to mark the death of a woman who was beaten and gang raped. six men have been charged in connection with her murder. u.s. president obama says that politicians must act now to avoid economic disaster. meeting to avoid the so-called
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fiscal cliff were held. and rebel fighters ha effectively sound -- surrounded the african capital and have agreed to attend peace talks. the hope is negotiations will start soon. four people were killed when an airplane crashed into a main road near the russian capital moscow. they were injured when the aircraft skidded off the runway and broke apart. >> the russian airliner traveling from the czech republic overshot the main runway at moscow's airport and came down on a highway. the impact split the airplane into three pieces. the cockpit ended up on the road with parts of the fuselages strewed across the perimeter fence. rescue teams were on the scene within minutes and emergency teams to access the aircraft through the rear door. the airplane, which can carry more than two other passengers,
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was flying virtually empty with just eight crew members on board. it was operated by the russian red wings airline. high wind was recorded at the airport at the time of the crash, but the cause is not yet clear. the aircraft entered commercial service in 1995, but prior to the crash had been involved in know if it'll crash -- noah at all accidents. accident, as of the tea team to try to remove the wreckage from the crash site. russian president dmitry medvedev has ordered an investigation into the accident. france's highest constitutional authority has struck down the centerpiece of the president's policy. the 75% tax rate was part of the socialist government's platform for bringing down the budget deficit. he came to power in may
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promising to levy the tax on those earning more than a million euros per year, $1.3 million. the tax would affect about 1500 high earners. the constitutional council which oversees all legislation it said the new law was not fair because it applies to individuals and not households. the french prime minister said the government would introduce a new version of the law. >> we will implement measures to respect the commitment of the president of the republic. it will take into account the rejection of the constitutional council and apply the 2013 incomes and will have to be voted. in macedonia, thousands of protesters gathered outside of the headquarters of the right wing ruling party, demanded the prime minister's resignation. the rally is a combination of
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days of protests that began last week when the opposition was ejected from parliament after a disagreement over next year's budget. we have this report from the capital. >> a march against the government and the capital. but unlike the rest of europe, not against austerity cutbacks. the demonstrators accused the authorities of going on a spending spree which they claim wastes too much of the country's financial resources. instead of doubling their usual christmas or new year's shopping, these people decided to take to the streets and protests against the government and the wrongful spending of their money, the people's money. opposition leaders are asking for early elections from thousands of their followers. but >> this is only the beginning.
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they use police forces to send us from parliament. now we are on the streets and fighting for democracy in our country on the streets. >> we are here because we are against this regime and we want democracy to return to macedonia. we want to remove this dictator. resistance is our duty. >> we have gathered to say enough of this and the parliament representatives. >> demonstrations finished peacefully, but resolving this and the former yugoslav republic of macedonia is still far away. russia says that its forces have killed seven suspected militants in the troubled caucasus region. security forces say that a fire fight broke out and is surrounded a building in the capital. they say that rebel fighters fired on them as others were being led to safety.
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thousands of people protesting against bashir led government in iraq. large demonstrations have been held in the center of iraq. and replaced it to the streets over a week ago when the bodyguards of the city finance minister were arrested, accusing the prime minister nouri al- maliki of trying to break the alliance. iraq has suffered its highest rainfall in decades with many areas flooded. poor infrastructure is making the situation worse, and many are blaming the government for not helping them. >> after three days of heavy rain, the streets of the capital turned into rivers. many roads were blocked, homes flooded. the rising water adding to the misery of a population that has
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suffered decades of wars and sanctions. in one of baghdad's poorest areas, the people blamed the government. >> we are suffering. where is the government? where's the money going? it is going into their pockets and officials are fighting for power. suffered decadesi>> we need ser. we have nothing. it has been tenures. -- 10 years. >> and a cutter with large oil reserves, the people feel that this is not enough. iraq and its between $7 billion and $8 billion every month from the u.s. it will revenues, but political infighting has prevented big projects to improve the infrastructure of this country. officials blamed the floods on the old sewage system. >> the amount of rain was seven times more than the capacity of our system. we're working on new systems to build new sewage lines. >> iraqis are promised yet
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another new megaproject to improve their lives, but until they are completed, it will be more obstacles for iraqis to overcome. an iranian pilot praised for an emergency landing is blooming international sanctions for putting passengers at risk. he said iranian airlines are forced to buy parts from the black market. >> it was a routine iran air flight that almost turned into catastrophe. the landing gear on that his boeing failed last year. a small part had been, more and dislodge, forcing the captain to land his airplane on the back wheels. the captain said it should not have happened and blames the
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international sanctions against iran. >> in the beginning, since all airplanes were new, there were not serious problems. but the cost of maintenance has been multiplied and our airline expenses have become very high. >> that is because iran has to find parts of the black market. >> airlines confined parts on many companies, the sanctions are difficult. yes, the engineering sector has been under pressure 30 years, but it has forced us to be creative and calls that domestic engineering advancements. >> but they say there is only so much engineers can do to keep the airplanes flying. according to government figures, more than 21 million people flew on iranian airlines last year. the most common airplane they operate is made in the netherlands. it is -- has largely replaced the russian airplane that many considered unsafe, but the average age of the air fleet is still about 20 years old. on board, both iranians and foreigners, in the past 30
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years, iranian plane crashes have killed more than 1700 people. iran has one of the world's worst air safety records. that is difficult to win approved despite their industry standards. the country has been under u.s. sanctions since the 1979 islamic revolution. last year, the west street them those directed at the aviation industry, specifically iran air. they say it is not only civilian but provide services to the armed forces. but they say that is politics, and the crash victims are civilians. that is why the captain and his supporters do not want politics mixed up with their police -- mixed up with airplanes. sweden leads the way and keeping their waste out of landfill sites. what can be recycled is and what cannot is burned to provide
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power for a quarter of a million homes. the only problem is they are not throwing away enough rubbish to feed the incinerators. sweden once your trash. >> warning that all rubbish is not rubbish, they know that recycling is an important part of life in sweden. >> now i have a big family. i have less garbage, and now i cook food. >> routine it is the result of decades of work by sweden to encourage citizens to reduce, reuse, and recycle. the amount of trash they produce is minimal and it is put to good use. this is where the rubbish ends up, any waste processing center. every year, about 300,000 tons of waste is burned, providing
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200,000 homes with heat. >> 50% is household waste. 50% is industrial waste. >> the plant relies on sweden's rubbish to heat the city. >> that takes the waist up to the boiler. >> the rubbish is piled up, sorted, then burned. >> a look inside, this is 1000 degrees. >> the heat warms water that makes its way into radiators that make its way through the city. sweet it is so efficient at recycling that it actually imports some rubbish -- sweden is so efficient at recycling that it actually imports some
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robbers from neighboring countries. >> we have done some test ses ad it works, so could be a market of the future. >> the idea of burning waste for heat is an imports some robbers from neighboring countries. economic boon for the country. >> it is part of the energy. the municipalities earn money course fors noand of sweden as a country, it is a valuable technology. >> while the swedes are doing everything they can to minimize everything they can to minimize the waist, the paradox
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